The thing to look for at Gollierstown Bridge is the stone, not the structure. Cut into the north pier, beside the towpath, are deep grooves worn by the tow-ropes of the horses that once hauled barges along the Grand Canal. They are the most direct trace you’ll find anywhere on this stretch of how the canal actually worked before engines, and they’re easy to miss if you don’t know to look.
The bridge itself is a single stone arch of about 1780, on a remote, lightly walked stretch of the canal west of Lucan. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records it (Reg No 11208014): coursed ashlar piers, dressed voussoirs to a semi-circular arch, and rubble parapets whose coping curves down to meet the canal banks. The inventory calls it a fine example of a Grand Canal bridge, made more striking by how isolated and quiet its setting is. It sits noticeably high above the water.
Be clear about what this is and isn’t. It’s a small piece of canal engineering on a working farm’s land, not a visitor attraction. The bridge now carries only a gated farm track and isn’t a public crossing – it was damaged back in November 1934 and has been a private farm bridge since. There are no facilities of any kind here. What you can do is walk the towpath alongside the canal and take it in from the bank; treat it as one quiet detail on a longer canal walk rather than a destination in itself.
Getting there
The bridge is on the Grand Canal main line, in the townland of Gollierstown (postcode K78 AV63), west of Lucan. The nearest railway stations are Adamstown, about 1 km to the north-east on the Dublin–Kildare commuter line, and Hazelhatch & Celbridge, about 3 km west. There’s no dedicated car park; if you drive, use local lanes and don’t block farm entrances or gates.
Along the canal
Heading west (towards the Naas junction), the Gollierstown Winding Hole – where boats once turned – is about 2¼ furlongs along. Heading east towards Dublin, Grand Canal Lock No 12 is roughly 7¼ furlongs on, and Hazelhatch Bridge a bit under two miles. Any of these makes a natural turning point if you’re walking the towpath. Lucan, a few kilometres north, is the nearest town for food and shops.